"Thank you all for helping Houtu!"
Houtu bowed deeply to the crowd to express her gratitude.
Six-Eared Macaque chuckled, holding the Star Twisting Gilded Staff, and said, "Sister Houtu, don't be so formal. If that old man Hongjun wants to bully you, he'll have to ask this cudgel in my hand first!"
"That's right, Sister Houtu! Anyone who dares to bully Sister Houtu is going against us."
Nuwa quickly came to Houtu's side, took her hand, and looked at her with a firm gaze.
"Alright, now that they've left, you can all go back! The Witch Clan members, and the Minghe, you stay here!"
Lin Tian immediately told them to leave.
"Yes, Father God!"
"Yes, Dao Venerable!"
"Fellow Daoist Lin Heavenly Dao, I'll take my leave now. I'll wait for you to return to Three Immortal Islands so we can have a drink together."
After everyone had dispersed, Lin Tian approached Minghe and found him standing there dumbfounded. Even waving his hand in front of Minghe's eyes had no effect.
She slapped him squarely on the shoulder.
"Hey, wake up!"
Minghe was so startled that he almost fell to the ground.
"What? Oh? Dao Venerable Lin Tian? Where am I?"
He was still in a daze; he had almost thought that Dao Ancestor Hongjun was about to start a war with Dao Venerable Lin Tian.
Seeing the two sides on the verge of exchanging blows, Minghe tried to escape but found himself unable to move, and his mind nearly went haywire.
"I've already said, your losses will be compensated."
Lin Tian shook his head. The Lord of the Blood Sea has such little courage!
If you were to see the scene of me fighting against Three Thousand Demon Gods alongside Pangu and the others, wouldn't you be terrified?
Then, Lin Tian walked to Houtu's side, looking at the disc in her hand, "The underground passage must have been revived, right? Can you sense it?"
"You... Dao Venerable, how did you know?"
Houtu was stunned, staring at him with wide eyes.
He already knew before I even said anything.
This Dao Venerable is incredibly powerful!
"Don't look at me like that. To me, it's just a small matter."
Lin Tian did not explain, watching as the six black vortexes on the other side of the Blood Sea slowly dissipated, eventually turning into a black world.
Have you decided what to name this world?
Houtu nodded. "Just now, after I transformed into a being in Reincarnation, a lot of information appeared in my mind. It was transmitted to me by the underground passage."
It said this realm is called: Netherworld!
" The Netherworld?"
Minghe muttered to himself, feeling a strange connection to the underworld.
"The netherworld?"
Lin Tian nodded.
At that moment, two beams of light emerged from the black world and landed in Houtu's hands.
The light faded, revealing a book and a pen.
" The Book of Life and Death? The Judge's Brush?"
Looking at the Great Dao Rune above, Houtu unconsciously read them aloud.
"It's them? I knew it."
Lin Tian's eyes narrowed; everything was proceeding as described in the legends of his previous life.
"Right now, the world is so empty; it needs some decoration!"
"Decoration? Dao Venerable, how should it be decorated?"
Houtu was somewhat confused.
Zhu Rong, who was standing to the side, thought he understood and then said casually, "Little sister, it's very simple. This world is newly created and needs more people to manage it. Dao Venerable, am I right?"
Lin Tian nodded slightly, "Not bad, Zhu Rong, this is the first time I've seen someone so intelligent."
Seeing himself praised, Zhu Rong smiled and smugly pointed at Gong Gong.
This prompted Gong Gong to snort coldly and turn his head away.
"Wait, something's not quite right about what the Dao Venerable said?"
Lin Tian smiled slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless void and seeing into the future.
"Since it is the final destination of all beings, there must be a path to guide them, a platform to gaze upon their homeland, a bridge to ferry their souls, and a prison to punish their evil deeds. There must be reunion, separation, judgment, and liberation. Only in this way can the Reincarnation of reincarnation be complete."
Houtu seemed to understand, but not quite.
Lin Tian said no more. He stood with his hands behind his back, facing the empty black world, and slowly spoke.
"Here, there must be a gate, defining Yin Yang, separating life and death."
As soon as the words were spoken, the void trembled at the junction of the Netherworld and the Primordial Wilderness Land, and endless dark matter and laws converged, transforming into a towering pass tens of thousands of feet high!
The pass was built of deep black boulders, exuding a desolate atmosphere.
The massive door was tightly shut, and the three Great Dao Rune "Gate of Ghost Gate Pass " naturally appeared on it.
This is the Ghost Gate Pass, the beginning of the journey for the souls of the dead into the netherworld.
"Within the gate, there is a path that Jieyin the departed souls to the Reincarnation."
Inside the Ghost Gate Pass, a winding, endless, earthen-yellow path appeared out of nowhere, shrouded in mist, obscuring the view ahead.
This is the Yellow Springs Road.
At the same time, countless blood-red, eerily beautiful flowers bloomed instantly from the soil on both sides of the road. The petals were delicate and thread-like, like claws or silk. The flowers bloomed without leaves, and the leaves grew without flowers.
The poignant sea of red flowers became the most striking color in this gloomy world.
This is the Shore Flower ).
"Where the road ends, there shall be a river to forget the past; across the river, there shall be a bridge to ferry souls of good and evil."
At the end of the Yellow Springs Road, the void cracked open, and a huge, turbid river roared out, teeming with insects and snakes, its waves churning, and countless lonely ghosts could be faintly seen floating and wailing in the river.
This is the River of Forgetfulness.
River water has the power to cleanse memories and erode the soul.
Across the river, an ancient and massive stone bridge was erected. The bridge was divided into three levels: the upper level was shrouded in a hazy red light, the middle level was ordinary and unremarkable, and the lower level was narrow and dark, hidden in the blood-red waves of the River of Oblivion.
The bridge exudes a mysterious power of Reincarnation, capable of discerning the good and evil Karmic Debt of souls.
This is the Bridge of Helplessness.
"At the bridgehead, there should be a platform, so one can gaze upon one's hometown one last time; there should be a stone, so one can reflect upon one's past life."
At the Bridge of Bridge of Helplessness, a high platform rises abruptly from the ground, its surface shrouded in a hazy mist, causing countless departed souls to pause and weep.
This is the Homesickness Platform.
Beside the platform, a smooth, mirror-like boulder quietly appeared, its surface exuding the aura of time and Karma.
This is the Three Lives Stone.
"At the end of the bridge, there should be an old woman offering soup to dispel worries."
Lin Tian's gaze fell on Houtu, and Houtu immediately understood. A phantom appeared from her body, and an old woman dressed in plain clothes with a kind face slowly materialized.
She held a large pot in her hand; the soup inside was murky, yet it exuded an aura that calmed the mind and made one forget everything.
She bowed slightly to Lin Tian and Houtu, then stood quietly at the end of the bridge and began to brew the Meng Po's Soup that could make people forget their past lives.
She is Meng Po.
"After crossing the bridge and entering the city, there will be a palace where merits and demerits are judged, and the Reincarnation is determined."
After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
The outline of a magnificent, solemn, and eerily sinister city came into view.
The city walls stand tall, built of dark, ghostly stone, and above the city gate, the three large characters " Fengdu City " shine brightly.
Inside the city, ten palaces, each with a different style but equally majestic and imposing, are arranged in a row. The Plaque in front of the palaces are inscribed with "Qin Guang Palace", "Chu Jiang Palace"... and so on until "Zhuan Lun Palace".
This is the place where the Ten Halls of Hell judge the souls of the dead and determine their Reincarnation.
"Behind the city lies a prison, divided into eighteen levels, to punish the wicked and cleanse the soul of evil deeds."
Behind Fengdu City, layers upon layers of space evolved into eighteen distinct yet equally terrifying spaces filled with endless pain and torment.
Mountains of knives and trees of swords, seas of fire and cauldrons of boiling oil, pillars of ice and copper, tongue-pulling scissors... all sorts of cruel punishments appear for different sins.
This is the Eighteen Levels of Hell!
As soon as Lin Tian finished speaking, the entire Netherworld trembled violently, as if it had been infused with a true soul.
The once empty and lifeless world has been infused with a different feeling.
Looking at the emerging Netherworld, Lin Tian calmly said, "The framework is complete; you'll need to refine the details later. You can have the Witch Clan fill the positions of the Ten Halls of Hell, the Judges, and the Ghost Messengers, or you can choose from other races."
"Yes, Dao Venerable!"
Houtu bowed respectfully. The Dao Venerable had done so much for her; the rest was up to her.
Tian Wu chuckled and said, "I knew it. Dao Venerable wouldn't forget our Witch Clan. By the way, Houtu, remember to save me a good spot."
Zhu Jiuyin couldn't help but punch him in the chest, saying irritably, "You talk too much."
The other Ancestral Witch chuckled.
At this moment, Houtu thought of the Asura Way among the Six Paths, which was very compatible with the Minghe. So she said, "Fellow Minghe, I created the Netherworld and occupied your Daoist temple, the Blood Sea. Since that's the case, I am willing to make you the master of the Asura Way and rule over the Asura Way from now on. What do you say?"
"Is... is this real?"
Having witnessed the entire creation process of the Netherworld, he naturally knew what changes the future held. This was an incredibly good thing; should he really give it to him?
This is a continuous stream of merit!
"What? Not satisfied?"
Lin Tian smiled helplessly when he saw him staring blankly again.
"Satisfied, very satisfied! Thank you, Dao Venerable! Thank you, Houtu Daoist... uh, no, thank you, Empress Houtu!"
If Houtu has already become Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal, on par with a sage, then naturally she should be treated with respect.
He knew that from now on, he would be on Dao Venerable Lin Tian's side, and would be in opposition to Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
However, he doesn't regret it.
"Go!"
Houtu smiled slightly and waved towards the Minghe.
Minghe bowed slightly and hurriedly returned to the Blood Sea to pack his belongings.